But Louis Walsh made a fleeting return to the ITV talent show on Saturday night in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it spoof of the famous John Lewis Christmas ad.

The former judge, who was axed from Simon Cowell's series after 11 years on the panel, was seen playing the man on the moon part from the store's festive campaign.

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Look who's back! Louis Walsh made a fleeting return to the X Factor on Saturday night in a spoof of John Lewis' 2015 Christmas ad

Mirroring the ad, Louis was seen peering through a telescope from his lonely spot on the moon as the X Factor final took place back on earth at Wembley Arena.

Looking upset that he was missing out on the fun, the silver-haired judge let out a big sigh before giving a forlorn wave at earth and his former spot on the panel.

The spoof kick started the ITV show's final weekend on Saturday as Reggie N Bollie, Che Chesterman and Louisa Johnson battle it out for the win in front of judges Cowell, Cheryl Fernandez Versini, Rita Ora and Nick Grimshaw.

Missing home? The former judge, who was axed from Simon Cowell's series after 11 years on the panel, was seen playing the man on the moon part from the store's festive campaign

Wish you were there: Mirroring the ad, Louis was seen peering through a telescope from his lonely spot on the moon as the X Factor final took place back on earth at Wembley Arena

Louis has hardly been biting his tongue about his absence from the panel this year, lashing out at former colleague Simon last month, claiming he has ruined the show by making too many changes.

‘I'm glad I'm not on it this year as the ratings are down,’ the 63-year-old said in an interview with Daily Star. ‘Simon has messed with it too much. It was an experiment that didn't really work.

‘He used to blame me. He'd say, “It's your fault, people are fed up looking at you.” But it's not my fault, it's his. He's f***ed the show.’

This time last year: Looking upset that he was missing out on the fun, the silver-haired judge let out a big sigh

Brief return: The spoof kick started the ITV show's final weekend on Saturday ahead of the winner being crowned on Sunday night

The music manager was rumoured to be making a return to the show at some point this series but has confessed he would only come back if hosts Caroline Flack and Olly Murs were given the boot as well as judges Nick and Cheryl .

Despite having no hard feelings with his replacement, the Irish star described the BBC Radio 1 DJ as just a ‘radio person who was thrown in the deep end.’

Louis has been keen to return to the show though, even forking out £20,000 at the Music Industry Trusts Awards in November for the chance to visit the set.

The Irish music manager took part in a charity auction that saw the highest bidder win a place on one of TV's most popular panels.

And it appeared the price was right where the 63-year-old was concerned, with the entertainment manager paying out a staggering £20,000 for the chance to join the show for a day during rehearsals.

So long: Louis gave a forlorn wave as the fun kicked off back down on earth